Storage of provisions



I Sept. 19, 1950 K. KREBSER STORAGE 0F PROVISIONS Filed June 29, 1945 INVENTOR Patented Sept. 19, 1950 OFFICE :"STOR'AGE F PROVISIONS Karl Krebser, Bramois, Switzerland Application J une'29, 1945,'Se1"ial No."602;373 'i In "Switzerland November 24, 1943 Section 1, Public Law 690,.August s, 1946 Patent expires November 24, 1963 (Cl.f98--.54)

4zClaims.

1 My present invention relates to improvements in storage pits, cellars, bins or silos used, in par- .ticular, for the storage of vegetable, fruit or cheese; and the objects of my improvements are first tosupply an adequate amount of fresh air of suitable moisture content in dependence of outside atmospheric conditions, second to afford facilities "forreadily and cheaply constructing a storage pit or for adapting an existing cellar structure, and third, to afford means for keeping the humidity and temperature of the air constantinithe pitor. cellar.

I attain these and related objects by thepit orstructureshown, in a single embodiment, in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a vertical section on the line I--I of Fig. 2,

Fig. 2 a horizontal section onthe line 11-11 of Fig. l, and

Fig. 3 a vertical longitudinal section.

The storage room I proper is connected by a plurality of air ducts-2 to humidifier trenches 3 disposed parallel .to the long 'sides of the structure. Said trenches are filled with an evaporator-humidifier material 4, e. gxliving moss, and may beiclosed off. against the atmosphere by the hinged :covers 5. Drop gatesfi c'lose the bottom of'said trenches against the airduct-s 2 while the latter may beclosed againstthe room I by the swing gates I. Uptakes 8, disposed back of the partly boarded side walls 9, connect the air ducts 2 withlan evaporator-humidifierbin I4 situated under the roof of the structure.

The said gates I, when raised, close off the bottom of the uptakes 8, while, when hanging free, they close off the ducts 2 against the room I. The gates 1, therefore, act in the manner of a three-way valve to direct the incoming air either horizontally into the room I or vertically into the uptake 8.

The roof structure, in the embodiment shown, extends partly into the ground, and comprises the sheathing I2 covered with roofing felt, asbestos cement shingles or corrugated sheets, or a similar roofing material, the hygroscopic plates II, the wire-mesh Ill supporting the latter, and

the evaporator-humidifier filler in the said bin I4. The space between the roof sheathing I2 and the said plates I I is also filled with an evaporator-humidifier material I3, e. g. moss. Four flues I5, to be closed by the hinged covers I6, connect the room I to the outside by way of the vents I8. The latter may be closed on top by the hinged covers II.

The roofing felt, asbestos cement shingles or .tweenthe said sleepers.

tween the outside and the room I.

corrugated sheets, or similar roofing material, may yet be coated by an impregnating mass, and the latter maybe sprinkled with a metallic powder, e. g. aluminium flakes. Thefioor of the storage room I receives a layer of sand, approximately one foot in depth, and sleepers I9 are laid thereon.

The stacked fruitboxeacrates or trays'ZII rest on the sleepers I9, and porous tile 'ev'aporators 2| which also may contain an evaporator-humidifier agent such as moss, are disposedlbe- The :alley between :the rows of boxes .20 is covered witha layer of quartzsandapproximately onefoot deep.

A double door 22 and a ladder 23 give :access to the storageroom. If desired, ithehumidifier reservoirs 3, I4 and 2| are connected to a water supply, not shown.

In cool-weather, outside air'is admitted into the storage room I through the trenches 3 and the ducts 2. In this case, the gates] aresswung open into their high-position shown by the dotand-dash line in Fig. Land the covers 5 and drop gates 5 also-are open. The covers I6 and I! may be open to induce a certain amountof air-circulation through the room In case of a rising outside temperature, when the humidity of the outside air decreases, :the doors 1 are dropped; and the outside air then descends through the trenches i3,'where.it.is adequately humidified and passes through 'the ducts 2 and the uptakes 8 into the top of the roof jacket I3. In case of a relatively high outside temperature, a very substantial evaporating and humidifying action is induced in the reservoir I4, which yet is increased when the sun is shining by the heating of the roof cover.

Since in such case all openings of the room I are closed, the reservoir I4 forms a buffer be- A certain adjustment of temperature and humidity only may take place through the hygroscopic plates II. The temperature and humidity difierences induced by this latter feature, amount, however, to only 2 F. between minimum and maximum or 2% respectively, in the room I.

In the structure shown and described, a sweatin of the goods stored is prevented in consequence of the constant and relatively low temperature and the uniformly substantial humidity. Fruit, vegetable, cheese and like produce may, therefore, be stored therein over extended periods of time, retaining its fresh appearance, preventing decay, maintainin its weight and being improved in taste. In place of an individual pit or silo structure, also a cellar of an existing structure could be provided with humidity reservoirs of the character and disposition shown and described, thereby attaining identical advantages for the goods stored. Should it be desired, e, g. in hot summers or in places having hot and dry climates, to attain still lower temperatures in the storage room, mechanical refrigeration means may be installed, thereby directly or indirectly cooling the air in the storage room. A liquid spray also could be provided for, cooling the water to be atomised, if such be necessary, by means of a refrigerator.

What I claim and desire to secure by 'Letters Patent is:

1. Storage structure of the class described, in combination comprising a storage room proper, evaporator-humidifier pits buried in the ground and disposed outside the structure and communicating with the atmosphere, air-supply ducts communicating with the bottom portions of said room and pits, an evaporator-htunidifier bin disposed in the top part of the structure, said pits and bin containing loosely packed humidifying material and said bin acting as insulating bufier between atmosphere and storage room, air-uptakes communicating with said ducts and said bin, and closing means adapted to guide incoming air into the latter by detouring the storage room for the purpose described.

2. Storage structure of the class described, in combination comprising a storage room proper, evaporator humidifier pits buried in the ground and disposed outside the structure and communicating with the atmosphere, air-supply ducts communicating with the bottom portions of said room and pits, an evaporator-humidifier bin disposed in the top part of the structure, said pits and bin containing loosely packed humidifyin material. and said bin acting as insulating buffer between atmosphere and storage room, air-uptakes communicating with said ducts and said bin, and closing means adapted to guide incoming air into the latter by detouring the storage room, and hygroscopic partition sheets on the long sides of the structure and shutting oiT said room from said uptakes for the purpose set forth.

3. Storage structure of the class described, in combination comprising a storage room proper, evaporator-humidifier pits buried in the ground and disposed outside the structure and communi- 4 cating with the atmosphere, air-supply ducts communicating with the bottom portions of said room and pits, an evaporator-humidifier bin disposed in the top part of the structure, said pits and bin containing loosely packed humidifying material and said bin acting as insulatin bufier between atmosphere and storage room, flues connecting the storage room with said bin, hinged covers for shutting off the latter from the storage room, and vents connecting said flues and said bin with the atmosphere.

4. Storage structure of the class described, in combination comprising a storage room proper, evaporator-humidifier pits buried in the ground and disposed outside the structure and communieating with the atmosphere air-supply ducts communicating with the bottom portions of said room and pits, an evaporator-humidifier bin disposed in the top part of the structure, said pits and bin containing loosely packed humidifying material and said bin acting as insulating buffer between atmosphere and storage room, air-uptakes communicating with said ducts and said bin, and closin means adapted to guide incoming air into the latter by detouring the storage room, and hygroscopic partition sheets on the long sides of the structure and shutting off said room from said uptakes, a roof sheathing spaced parallel to said hygroscopic partition to form a roofing jacket enclosing said uptalces, said jacket con taining said humidifying material, and fiues connecting the storage room with said bin and said vents.

KARL KREBSER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 353,348 Brown Nov. 30, 1886 564,601 Ernecke July 28, 1896 654,264 Lueder et al July 24, 1900 706,451 Rector Aug. 5, 1902 795,443 Johnson July 25, 1905 979,444 DeArmand Dec, 27, 1910 2,028,330 Hudson Jan. 21, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 373,078 Great Britain May 19, 1932 

